Lavatory mounting means



Dec. 5, 1961 c. B. HAUGHEY LAVATORY MOUNTING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 1. 1959 a. UM

. Dec. 5, 1 961 c. B. HAUGHEY LAVATORY MOUNTING MEANS Filed June 1, 19592 Sheets-Sheet 2 l0 IEIUELE- INVENTOR 3,011,177 I LAVATORY MOUNTINGMEANS Charles B. Haughey, 24 Poplar St., Battle Creek, Mich.

Filed June 1, 1959, Ser. No. 817,216 4 Claims. (CI. 4-470) Thisinvention relates broadly to assemblies employed for mountinglavatories, and more particularly to such assemblies in which a lavatoryis shiftable to different elevations correspondingly adapted for use byadults and children.

States Patent A few attempts have been made to provide assemblies ofthis general character, which are needed, but they have proven to be ofdoubtful practicability, have not presented a good appearance, and havefailed to be commercially feasible. It was a recognition of this problemand the knowledge that no prior practical and commercially feasibleapparatus had been devised, which led to the conception and developmentof the present invention.

Accordingly among the objects of the present invention is the overcomingof prior shortcomings in this field by the provision of a novelconstruction and relation of elements in which the lavatory is mountedon a vertically shiftable panel which may well be utilized also toobscure portions of the water supply and waste lines for the lavatory.

Another object of the invention is to mount the lavatory on a door-likestructure which is hinged to a wall of the room in which the lavatory islocated, said doorlike structure normally closing a recess in the wallthrough which the water supply and waste lines extend, and beingswingable into the room to give access to flexible line connections andthe like whenever repairing or replacing of elements is required.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings and the followingdescription setting forth in detail certain means for carrying out theinvention, such disclosed means illustrating, however, but one ofvarious ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In the annexed drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away and in section,showing an assembly constructed in accordance with the invention, thelavatory and its carrying panel being shown in a raised position foradult use.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing thedoor-like structure, carrying the lavatory, swung inwardly away from theroom wall.

FIGURE 3 is a diagram illustrating one form of the control valve for thehydraulic means shown for effecting raising, lowering, and holding ofthe lavatory carrying panel, the valve being turned topanel-and-lavatoryholding position.

FIGURE 4 is a similar view but showing the valve turned topanel-and-lavatory-raising position.

FIGURE 5 is a similar view showing the valve turned topanel-and-lavatory-lowering position.

The construction shown in the drawings will now be 5 wall member 13 ofdoor-like form. This wall member 13 is hinged at 14, FIGURE 1, to theroom wall 10 and is normally held in closed position against said wall10 by any suitable means such as screws 15.

The wall member 13 has a rectangular opening 16 which is closed by avertically shir'table panel 17. This panel 1'7 is slidably mountedagainst the rear side of the Wall member 13, by means of vertical tracks18 which are secured at 19 to said door member and engage the verticalside edges of the panel. I

The lavatory 2G is secured to the front face of panel 17, with theopening 16 in wall member 13 being sufficiently large to allow elevationof said lavatory to a suitable height for use by adults, and lowering ofsaid lavatory suitably for use by children; and the panel 1'7 rod 24 issecured by connector 25 to the endwise shiftable panel 17. The pistonand cylinder assembly may be of any conventional type but for simplicityof illustration and explanation this piston rod is shown of tubularform, to provide an admission and exhaust passage for the space incylinder 22 beneath piston 42. Water under pressure is admitted to thecylinder 22 through hollow piston rod 24 to the space under the piston42 to effect raising of the panel 17 to elevate the lavatory 20, andwater is exhausted from said cylinder through said hollow piston rod toallow said lavatory and panel to lower by gravity.

A three-way central control valve 26 is mounted on the panel 17, to (1)admit suificient water to the cylin der 22 to raise the lavatory torequired elevation; (2) to exhaust some or all of the water from saidcylinder to cause lowering of said lavatory to desired position, and (3)to act as a cut-off valve to trap'water in said cylinder to hold saidlavatory for use in any selected position in its operating range. Thevalve 26 is mounted on the rear'face of the panel 17 and has a handle26a extending to the front. face of the panel and movable (1) to araised position (FIGURES 1 and 4) to raise the lavatory 20; movable (2)to a lowered position (FIGURE 5) to lower said lavatory; and preferablyautomatically movable, when released, (3) to a horizontal neutralposition (FIGURE 3) to hold said lavatory where required. 1

A suitable type of valve for the above described use is diagrammaticallyshown in FIGURES 3 to 5, inclusive, in which a valve member 27 isturnable in a casing 28. Thiscasing has three ports 29, 3t) and 31; andthe valve member 27 has two elongated ports 32 and 33. conductingelements as'explain'ed' below.

A cold water supply line 34, FIGURE 1, extends. through the wall recess12 and includes alooped hose 34a. The upper end of this line extendsforwardly at 34b through the panel 17 and is connected with the coldwater faucet 35 of the lavatory 20. A hot water supply line 36 extendsin the same way to the hot water faucet 37 and includes a looped hose36a.

A waste line 38, FIGURES l and 2, extends through the wall recess 12;and the upper end of this line extends at 38a through the panel 17 andis connected in conventional manner with the lavatory 20. This wasteline includes a looped hose 38b and a trap 380.

A hose 39, FIGURE 1, connects the cold water line 34 with the valve port29, FIGURE 4; a hose 46, FIG- The ports 29, 30 and 31 are connected towater v 3 URES 1 and 4, connects the piston rod 24 with the valve port30; and a hose 41, FIGURES 1, 2, and 5, connects the waste line 38 withthe valve port 31. Ordinary piping could be substituted for the threehoses 39, 4t) and 41, connected to valve 26, if desired, but these hosesmay, in most instances, be more easily installed.

When the valve handle 26a is raised, as shown in F1"- URES 1 and 4, theconnecting valve port 32 establishes communication between the valveports 29 and 30. Water then flows from the cold water line 34 throughthe hose 39, the ports 29, 32 and 30, the hose 4t and the tubular pistonrod 24 into the cylinder 22' below piston 42, thereby causing upwardmovement of this rod to raise the panel 17 and the lavatory 28. When thelavatory has been raised to any desired elevation within its operatinglimits, the valve handle 25:: is lowered to neutral position as seen inFIGURE 3. All valve ports are thus placed out of communication with eachother and consequently water is trapped in the cylinder 22, therebyholding the lavatory at the selected elevation. When the lavatory is tobe lowered to any required extent within its operating range, the valvehandle 26a is lowered as seen in FIGURE 5. The connecting port 33 thenestablishes communication between the valve ports 30 and 31, with theresult that water may exhaust from the cylinder 22 below piston 42through the tubular piston rod 24, hose 40, ports 30, 33 and 31, andhose 41 to the waste line 38, allowing the lavatory 28 to descend bygravity. When the lavatory has descended to the desired position, thevalve handle 26a is moved to its neutral position, as shown in FIGURE 3,with the result that further exhaust of water is prevented and thelavatory will be held in the selected lowered position. During anyraising and lowering of the lavatory, the looped hoses 34a, 36a, and 38bsimply flex and cause no interference. Also, these hoses aresufiiciently long to allow the door-like structure and lavatory mountedon the latter, to be inwardly swung from the wall 18 as shown in FIGURE2. Thus, repair or replacement of elements normally inaccessible behindsaid door-like structure, may be readily performed.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a novel. and advantageousconstruction has been disclosed for attaining the desired ends. However,attention is again invited to the possibility of making variationswithin the spirit and scope of the invention as herein shown anddescribed.

Other modes of applyingthe principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the apparatusherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the followingclaims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An adjustable lavatory assembly for use at a recessed support surfacehaving accessible thereto liquid supply and waste-liquid dischargemeans, said lavatory assembly comprising a wall member including frontand rear surfaces, hinge means on said wall member for mounting the wallmember in overlying relation to the recess in the support surface withthe front surface of said wall member exposed and permitting said wallmemher to be pivoted away from said recessed support surface to permitaccess to the rear surface of said wall member, said wall memberincluding a transverse opening therethrough, guide rail means mounted onthe rear surface of said wall member and disposed in spaced, parallelrelation inwardly of opposite sides of said transverse opening, asupport panel overlying the rear surface of said wall member andincluding parallel side edges 7 guidingly received in said guide railmeans, a lavatory unit mounted on said support panel and projectinglaterally through said transverse opening, said transverse Openingincluding opposed margins defining the limits of adjustment of saidlavatory unit with respect to said transverse opening, said lavatoryunit including flexible conduit means for connection to said liquidsupply and waste-liquid means for permitting adjustment of said supportpanel between said margins and pivotal movement of said wall member,power means mounted on the rear surface of said wall member andincluding force transmitting means connected to said support panel formoving said support panel with respect to said transverse opening, andcontrol means connected to said power means and including an operatoraccessible adjacent said front surface of said wall member for operatingsaid power means and adjusting said support panel and lavatory unit withrespect to said wall member opening.

2. The structure of claim 1; said margins comp-rising the upper andlower limits of said wall member opening, said force transmitting meansbeing operative to move said support panel between said upper and lowermargins.

3. The structure of claim 1; said power means comprising a verticallydisposed fluid motor-and-piston assembly, said fluid motor-and-pistonassembly including a vertically disposed cylinder having a centrallyapertured, transverse piston, a tubular piston rod projecting axiallyfrom said cylinder and communicating with one side of said piston, saidcontrol means-comprising a three-way valvemounted on said support panel,said three-way valve including means for connection to a source of fluidpressure, said tubular piston rod being connectable to said source offluid pressure or said waste-liquid discharge means through saidthree-way valve.

4. The structure of claim 1; said wall opening being rectangular, saidwall member being rectangular, said hinge means on said wall memberbeing disposed at one side edge thereof.

